The 500 million year old creature has the oldest relationship with scorpions and spiders

New species was identified from fossils in Burgess Shale quarry in Canada. This area contains a lot of fossils and is known to be an extremely good source of soft tissue conservation.

Dating back to 508 million years, the creatures that tell us about life existed at the end of the Cambrian explosion, an event 541 million years ago witnessed the rise of most large animals. .

Image depicting a species called Mollisonia plenovenatrix.

Fossil members of the genus Mollisonia have been found previously, first discovered more than a century ago by American biologist, Charles Doolittle Walcott. However, the new findings give us more detailed information.

This is the first time evidence of limbs and other soft tissues of this animal has ever been described, which is the key to revealing its relationship.

Somehow, researchers cannot imagine that we could rediscover Burgess Shale so much.

M. plenovenatrix is described as a small sized thumb but still powerful and a terrifying predator. It has big eyes, long legs and many pairs of limbs to feel, grab and prey. This creature is described as having a multi-tool head with weapons like spiders or scorpions.

Ancient species lived underwater and used their long legs to hunt the ocean floor, filling a cavity not occupied by other similar animals at the time. It has a gill-like breathing apparatus.